


I Might Need Some Space

by hawkk



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Heartbreak, Jealousy, Minor Injuries, Swearing, Vulnerability, first fic be nice :), yeah this one is gonna hurt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-13 07:53:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29523225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hawkk/pseuds/hawkk
Summary: Juno has just come to Stardew Valley and it's already not the beautiful, spiritual, cure-all for her issues she was expecting, or, frankly, wanted.In the process of trying to get away from the still-raw feelings of her past and grow into adult responsibility that she had run from prior, she just ended up reopening more of her emotional wounds. Not only that, but now she’s stringing along someone she has feelings for… no, she doesn’t have any feelings. Or at least she shouldn't. She'd dealt with enough shitty relationship feelings to last her a lifetime. And she shouldn't keep pretending that she returns them. But, they did have that one conversation...It’s complicated, to say the least.
Relationships: Abigail/Female Player (Stardew Valley), Abigail/Sebastian (Stardew Valley)
Kudos: 5





	I Might Need Some Space

“There! That should do it!”  
Juno took short, hurried steps backwards as she surveyed her results from her prized project and dusted off her hands with satisfaction. Or, more accurately, the project that she had just finished again. And again. Okay, so maybe Juno was just reorganizing her cramped farmhouse over and over again.  
“Looks great. Yeah! I am really starting to settle in here now. Umm…”  
Turning slightly to get a view of the whole farmhouse, Juno’s gaze instinctively sought out the windows that flanked her front door and spilled afternoon sunlight into her room. Glancing out onto the land she had just been given a few days ago, she felt a twinge of deep-rooted guilt in her stomach. There was grass and debris covering most of the sandy-colored soil, making it nearly impossible to plant anything without taking the time to clear it out. And that was one thing Juno wanted to avoid at all costs.  
This farm held real history. Real love and care was poured into it, even if it looked more abandoned now than ever before. Even if Juno lived here now, it almost felt like she was… intruding. Like she was just staying a couple nights with a friend that you don’t know well enough and have to ask where the bathroom is. Except this is your own house. And nobody has lived here in years. And the last person who did was your… dead grandpa. Yeah, it was more than a little intrusive. It was downright way too personal for Juno’s tastes. Yes, of course she loved her grandpa and felt honored that he chose her to take on his farm when she was ready. But… was she really ready for that kind of responsibility? The young adult hardly considered herself as such, let alone when considering what friends and family think about her life path. Dropping out of not just college, but community college because “the workload was a lot for a 20 year old to handle” was probably not the best way to impress people with her hard-working spirit. Not to mention…  
No, Juno thought. I don’t want to think about it anymore. I already feel… jeez. Yeah, no. Rubbing her pale temples to clear her mind, Juno scrambled over to her front door and took flight out of her own house, slamming the creaky door behind her. Her pale cerulean eyes stung from the bright sun as she tumbled out of her front door and hustled out onto the dirt path headed to the town. She didn’t have a plan for where she was going, but all she knew was that she didn’t need to keep sulking about long-gone memories. Juno came to Pelican Town to forget things, not to sit in her room all day and be just as unproductive and pathetic as she had been in her parent’s Zuzu City basement.  
Passing the bus stop that she had arrived at on her first day in Stardew Valley, Juno’s feet found rough cobblestone as she entered Pelican Town’s village square for the first time since she’d come. Nervousness still squirmed in her gut but hey, better than feeling guilty for ever taking on the farm in the first place, right?  
Wrong.  
Almost immediately Juno felt she’d just walked in on some weird personal ceremony as the townspeople stopped their usual business and stared at her. Juno wasn’t one to feel awkward in social situations, but she could feel the heat rise to her cheeks. “Uhhm… h-hey!” Juno’s voice, normally bright and clear as a bell, was scratchy, underused, and oozed with nervousness.  
Clearing her throat to try again, Juno raised a hand and waved. “It’s nice to see all of you!” Her classic toothy smile appeared for the first time since she’d decided to move here.  
To Juno’s surprise, she was met with a jumble of animated hellos and welcoming waves. Nothing like Zuzu City. The people here were already coming up to her to ask her name, what she’d been up to since she’d arrived, and how they had already heard all about her from Lewis in the Stardrop Saloon. Young, old, and everything in between in this town. It was a bit overwhelming, even for the extroverted Juno. She really didn’t catch any of their names, she was just trying to do her best to not look like a weird hermit who spoke in tongues or something.  
“I-it’s nice to meet all of you! Really!” She let out a small bark of slightly nervous laughter as she addressed the crowd that began to disperse with warm goodbyes and passive promises to talk more another time.  
“Wow! Hey, Miss Farmer! How’d you make your hair purple? Do you know magic?” Juno heard the eager voice before encountering its source, but it didn’t take long to find out who’d bombarded her with them.  
“O-oh!” Juno let out a startled exclamation as a red-haired little boy crashed into her side, grabbing her overall pocket to steady himself.  
“Vincent! Don’t run so far and so fas-” An even littler girl raced after the boy, though stopped dead in her tracks when she turned the corner and saw Juno.  
“Oh… umm... hi.”  
Mumbling, the little girl took a step behind Vincent and fiddled with the purple bow tied around her dress.  
Juno caught herself and looked down at Vincent. The boy’s eyes were twinkling with the innocent curiosity only a child could possess, and waited expectantly for the answer to the barrage of questions he hurled at the farmer.  
“Oh, hi you two. My hair is purple because I dyed it! Not magic.” Juno pulled on a piece of her deep raspberry hair, displaying it in the vibrant afternoon sun to the kids. “But that sounds a lot cooler, doesn’t it?” Another signature grin from Juno made even the shy little girl smile to herself.  
“Awesome!! Emily dyes things all the time! She dyed the shorts I’m wearing because they were green at first, but I hate the color green. Now they’re blue instead, see?” Tugging at the shorts he had on, Vincent’s words raced like a rollercoaster. “Do you want to play with me and Jas? We’re supposed to be with my brother, but-” Vincent’s face suddenly fell as he whipped his head around, looking towards a blue-slatted house on the far corner. “Uh oh. Sam doesn’t know we ran off! Come on, Miss Farmer, or we’ll be in big trouble! He can be a big tattle!”  
Vincent forced his hand into Juno’s and tugged at her overalls, catching her off-guard enough to yank her forward and send the pair flying to their destination. Juno hardly had a moment to catch herself as in their hurry, let alone get out even a noise of protest. Her feet had found an uneven stone in the path and she closed her eyes as she braced for impact.  
“Woah! Hey, watch out!”  
An alarmed cry was abruptly cut off as Juno barreled into something - no, someone - going down in a flurry of arms and legs together. Stunned silence followed the impact before the farmer girl felt a poke in her ribs from below her and a brush of soft hair against her face. Meekly, she pulled herself back to apologize to whoever she’d just slammed with the force of a lackluster wrestler.  
“I’m so sorry, I-” Juno was cut off by explosive laughter.  
“Oh my Yoba, if you could only see the look on your face right now! Sam, Sam take a picture! She’s got to see this!” The person she’d been laid on top of rolled out from under her, giving Juno a good look at the poor victim of her clumsiness.  
The girl was brushing back her now-ruffled and grass-filled purple hair behind her ears, a wide smile full of laughter still plastered on her face as she looked from her friends to Juno. She couldn’t have been any older than Juno herself. Her features seemed to pop off of her face, the brightness of her expression contrasting with her pale skin left her almost imprinted in Juno’s mind as a recognizable character. Her blue eyes shone with a mischievous glimmer as a blonde boy with a spiky updo, presumably Sam, snatched his mobile phone from his pocket and snapped a photo of Juno’s predicament in one quick motion. Sam snorted in laughter, dimples on his cheeks pronounced yet simultaneously soft against his otherwise square face, passed the phone quickly to the purple-haired girl who still sat cross-legged on the ground with Juno. Impossibly, her cheeky grin grew wider and she threw her head back in another uproar of laughter.  
“Juno, you look like a hot fucking mess. Here.” She leaned against the front yard’s fence and offered Juno a hand as she got to her feet, with a wide smile still plastered on her round face.  
“Oh, uh, thanks.” Juno was surprised by the girl’s strength as she was heaved to her feet and began to brush herself off as she watched the phone be passed back to Sam.  
“Wait.” Juno glanced between the two, now noticing that a third teen, a boy with long, black hair, stood in the back of the group and had watched the event transpire with an unreadable expression, leaving Juno with even more questions. “How did you know my name? I haven’t even met you.”  
The girl pivoted slightly to her friends, raising an eyebrow and smirking slightly. Looking back at Juno, she playfully poked the farmer’s ribs again as she spoke. “I’m Abigail. I guess you can call me Abby. My dad runs the General Store, and he told me all about you and how thrilled he is to finally have a dependent customer and how business will finally start looking up.” Abigail’s voice dripped with sarcasm as she mimicked her father.  
“Oh, yeah, and you obviously know Sam’s name now,” Abigail pointed at the boy who now was ruffling Vincent’s hair affectionately, “and there’s Sebastian. Surprised he hasn’t made some smartass comment yet, he’s not too good with being a functionally social person, y’know?”  
Sebastian blinked slowly in response to Abigail’s teasing remark and his face morphed into an expression Juno couldn’t really describe, but he seemed… annoyed? Amused? Pissed? Sebastian was nearly impossible for her to read. His dark eyes revealed almost nothing to the uninitiated farmer. He regarded Juno with quiet acknowledgment of some mysterious intent that Juno had neither the brain power nor will to crack after all that mess.  
“Well, it’s nice to meet you all. Sorry again for running into you, I was rushed a bit by a certain someone.” Juno shot a knowing glance at Vincent, who was now set off in the direction of his backyard with Jas raising the hem of her dress to follow close behind.  
“No problem, man. Hey, we’re about to head over to the saloon. Wanna come with? It's like a Friday tradition. I get a Joja Cola, Sebastian kicks Sam’s ass at pool over and over and over…” Abigail held back another round of giggling as Sam puffed up with indignation. Even the corners of Sebastian’s mouth seemed to move in a position that might be a smile, if you squint.  
“Hey, I’ll have you both know that I beat him last time! You literally watched me, Abby!” Sam retorted with a genuine smile.  
“More like I let you win, genius. C’mon. You’re done babysitting now.” Sebastian’s voice was clipped, but not annoyed. Sarcasm? Or was he genuine. Ugh. Too complicated. He was the first to set off in the direction Juno came from and Sam quickly followed in his broad steps.  
“Meet you guys there in a sec!” Abigail called after the boys and redirected her attention to Juno, who stood in an uncharacteristically awkward position. “So, do you wanna tag along? You look kinda like a scared kitten right now.”  
“Me? No, I just, I don’t know, a lot has happened and I just met you guys and it kinda seemed like, well…” Juno had trouble articulating her thoughts as she watched Abigail’s expression shift from curiosity to confusion. Spit it out! Don’t be acting like such a dumbass. “It just seems like Sebastian, like, would rather me not come? Which is fine, I don’t want to intrude on your guys’-”  
Abigail cut her off with an exhale of quiet understanding. “No, dude. Sebastian is just, I dunno, he’s just like that. You don’t know him like I do. Promise. C’mon, the stooges are gonna start assuming things if we don’t hurry over.” Preventing Juno from commenting further, Abigail gave her a gentle push towards the saloon.  
Assuming things? Juno blinked a few times as the two started over to where Sam and Sebastian had disappeared to. Oh. She better not mean… no, I’ve already had enough of that for one lifetime. I better shut that down quick. The girl felt an ache in her chest as she walked, attempting to block out the feelings that resurfaced with Abigail’s offhand comment. You came here to get away, not to get all caught up in that shit again. Swallowing her feelings into the pit of her stomach, Juno and Abigail stepped into the Stardrop Saloon, greeted by the taunting tone of Sam and the crack of pool balls against cues.

**Author's Note:**

> hey!! thank you for reading my chapter, if you did :") this is mostly just wish fulfillment but i hope you enjoyed it anyway! i'll try to keep a regular schedule to update it.   
> take care! stay safe! :)
> 
> hawk


End file.
